My understanding of a meme complex is that it is similar to a psychological
*complex* (its action might more resemble a transitional organization of
information rather than a stable organization as in the meme proper). I
want to make the distinction between complex, here, and "meta-meme"--which
one might also confuse with "complex"--meta-meme being a *master* meme
configuration within which sub-processes with specific memetic functions
might exist (complex having a slightly different *function* by which it
might be recognized).
I see the complex as representing a portion of the meta-meme which contains
both the information for the formation of a meme and the information for the
formation of its viral form. Thus, the complex has more information than is
needed for either the meme or the viral form alone; but contains more
specific information than would be required for the formation of the
meta-meme (ex. <control> is the meme, >mass production< is the viral form
which is in transition between "<control> and <standards>";
<control/standards> would be the meme complex within a meta-meme, <freedom>
perhaps, whose components allow for all of these configurations.
But, surely, I do agree with Prof. Tim...I do think the distinction is
important.
Brett
At 01:24 PM 2/6/98 -0800, you wrote:
>
>I wonder is if a lot of the descriptions of memes here as seemingly
>intentional is not really a description of the meme, but rather of the role
>the meme plays in a larger meme-complex.
>
>Although I may seem like a small distinction, I don't think it is.
>
>A white blood cell may serve to protect the body from disease, but from a
>cellular level all a white blood cell does is envelop other cells which
>match certain profiles (tagged with certain chemical receptors). Its roll
>in the larger structure is a niche it has adapted to. And that adaption is
>relfected in its structure.
>
>The same might be said of a meme within a meme-structure.
>
>-Prof. Tim
Brett Lane Robertson
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